Difference Between Convection VS Conduction Vaporizers

So, you’re thinking about buying a dry herb vape. There are a ton on the market to choose from. So many, it may seem a bit overwhelming to make a decision. In this article, I want to talk about one very important choice you are going to have to make when purchasing a vaporizer – convection or conduction.

Vaporizing VS Combusting

Before we get too far into this we need to talk about the difference between vaporizing and combusting because these terms are going to be reused in the article.

Vaporizing occurs when you heat your herb just to the point of the THC and other cannabinoids to turn into a vapor. If your vaporizer is working correctly then it won’t get hot enough to burn the actual herb.

If you do heat the actual herb too much then you’re going to get combustion. Combustion is what happens when you light a bowl or joint.

You don’t want a vaporizer that combusts for several reasons. The first is it negates the health reason that many people get vaporizers for in the first. By vaporizing you’re not inhaling the additional smoke from the herb. Combustion is also not good because it can ultimately ruin your vaporizer. These units aren’t designed to combust so when they do it can damage the unit.

Convection VS Conduction

Before we compare convection vs. conduction in vaporizers it’s important we understand the two terms. Look, I could give you the exact definition of conduction heat, but it wouldn’t really do us much good. Instead, I’m going to tone everything down a bit and explain the two types of heating in terms that we’re all familiar with.

Convection Vaporizers

Convection is a newer and more expensive technology, however, the benefits are usually well worth the price tag.

Convection heating works by moving hot air around your herb instead of it contacting a heating element directly.

The huge benefit here is that you’re not going to combust your material. You’re always going to get actual vapor and not smoke.

A good example of a convection vaporizer would be the Firefly 2. Like mentioned earlier, this technology is going to cost you a little bit more, but you’re paying for quality.

Conduction Vaporizers

Conduction is often thought of the old school way of making a vaporizer. Truth is, there are still plenty of vaporizers on the market that are still using this technology. For example, the PAX is still using conduction technology.

Conduction heating is when the heat is transferred directly between two objects. Think of the eye of a stove. If you put something on the eye of a stove it’s going to transfer heat directly to that object.

With vaporizers, your herb is vaporized by placing it directly on a heating element. This method of making vaporizers makes for a product that is much less expensive to produce. These types of vaporizers are also usually pretty quick to heat up.

I think the biggest problem with conduction style vaporizers is that often your product will combust. That is, instead of getting vapor you’re really getting smoke which defeats the whole purpose of using a vaporizer in the first place.

Conclusion

In the end, it’s very clear who the winner is here. Convection style heating is the better method every time. The problem is, there are so few options available when it comes to convection. Luckily, the folks over at Firefly understand this idea very well and are producing the best convection vape on the market. So, if you’re ready for a top-of-the-line vaporizer then you have to check out the Firefly 2.